The Midday Brief: April 28, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Every other debate in the House is ostensibly about what's best for the state's residents — school kids, business owners. We watch as a few active members argue that their bill makes the state better somehow. Redistricting, meanwhile, is all about power and politics. Nasty and personal, it seemed more members got involved in the fight over politics than in any major piece of policy so far this session." — The Top Redistricting Fight Moments, The Texas Observer

• "If fundraising is the barometer, Tom Leppert and Ted Cruz are setting the pace in the five-way Republican field for U.S. Senate in Texas." — Who's winning the Texas money chase?, Politico

• "Former Texas GOP gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina is speaking out against legislation that would allow dozens of states to send radioactive waste to West Texas." — Ex-gubernatorial candidate opposes nuke site bill, The Associated Press

• "A proposed constitutional amendment to clarify that a state income tax could be applied to business partnerships and corporations might have some legs, said Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan." — Ogden: Business income tax amendment could move, Postcards

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Senators left a meeting this morning looking no closer to an agreement on the budget — and Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said the method of financing it remains the sticking point. 'If we’re not going to use the Rainy Day fund when it’s raining, we might as well get rid of it,' Ogden told reporters after this morning's caucus. 'This is what it’s for.'" — Ogden: Still No Budget Deal